Gotta Start Somewhere

A late start on a new water is like a kid not being able to open his Christmas presents at 6am on Christmas morning.
So instead of a early morning tench fishers dawn, I had to settle for a tench fishers sunset instead, but I had to find them first.

I had been out on the boat during the week to scout out some likely looking areas but this is a water like none I have ever seen or fished. It is a hybrid of different water body types, in some places its like a broads river, in another section its a farm pond and then you have a mere. To me it id idyllic, one of a kind and a special sort of something that I have lusted after for a good few years, and now I can fish it.

So I was on the bank this time and selected a swim on the broads river and I begun raking spots on the far bank. the cast able weed rake is an invaluable tool for a tench angler, I not a fan of raking out tonnes of weed for two reason 1) it bloody hard word 2) it really not necessary in my humble option.

With the spot raked and the distance marked, the far bank rod was clipped up to the required distance using a piece of electrical tape on the spool. Pinpoint casting was important otherwise I'd end up in the overhanging trees.

The magic of the place is the wildlife, its not uncommon to see a number of birds of prey plus warblers, cockoo's and even the change of a bitten.
On the drive in I had seen a hoby and a tawny owl and that was before I even got to the lake.

With the rod taped up and ready to go the close bank rod 90 degree rig was swung out into position, it was baited with a boilie and fake corn over a mix of hemp, dead maggot, and corn all marinated in its own juices

The far bank rod was to be another bolt ring, but the inline maggot feeder had been changed to a inline method feeder couple with a short hook link baited with three fake maggots on the hair. With the presents of a very active population of silvers, I wanted scent to go in with small morsels of bait rather than a particle bed. The plan was top up the scent with a recast every 45-60 minutes. The feeder dropped on the money and was set onto the alarm.

The third rod out was a simple float rod rigged so I could fish on the bottom using anything that wouldn't attract too much attention from the silvers.

The day was warm and sunny, even with the blustery wind blowing down the lake and control of the float was difficult, but not impossible. What was impossible was to stop the attention of the hordes of rudd and roach which intercepted the bait big or small before it had change to hit the bottom and before long ten or more had been landed and returned.

 With the attention firmly on the float, I missed the first couple of bleeps on the margin rod, this soon change when the bleeps got quicker and the baitrunner spun. Something had self hooked its self and was running along the bank. I clamped down on the spool and the rod took a healthy curve, could it be a good tench or even be a carp. I started to get control of the fish and clawed back line against this weight. The water clarity wasn't good so I didn't get to see the fish until it was underneath the rod tip. The long cream under belly soon gave the mystery fish's identity away and it seem that a pike had take a liking to the fish meal boilie tipped off with fake corn.

I tried to bully the pike into the net as I didn't want to exhaust it. It was neatly hooked in the scissors so a bite off was unlikely, but as the  pike came toward the sunken net, it surge and the hook pulled free.

With the boilie and fake corn still attached and with not much damage, it was swung back out.

The feeder rod had been cast every 45 minutes and hadn't been touched, so the mix had bit of molasses mixed in to give it something else before it went out again.

It was time for tea, and not a cuppa, but the evening meal. A nice tin of curry with some pre prepared rice was on the menu and this was to be washed down with a mug of tea.

The sun was pleasantly warm this evening and it was a pleasure to be there enjoying the sights and sounds of the lake. The hoby had returned, but a barn owl was also out hunting out over the farmland. I watched the barn owl as it swoop down from it hover, but my attention was drawn away by the sound of an alarm screaming. The feeder rod was away and again the spool was spinning. I clamped down on the spool and connected with another running fish, but this felt different and I hoped it was as it felt. The fish stayed deep on the bottom and I couldn't make it out in the brown tinged water what it was. Even the surface swirl didn't give its identity away until the paddle tail broke the surface. It was a tench and a nice one too. I played it carefully not wanting to loose it on my first outing and I had the net submerged and waiting for the tench to come to it. I had the tench near to the net only for it to use its large tail and it was away again. I extended the net so I could reach further out, so when or if I got it close there would be no mistake.

One last surge and it was with range of the extended net and was in.

The next few minutes I just stood looking at the lump in the net. It was hooked neatly in the edge of the mouth and didn't take much to unhook. Next was the weight.

With shaking hands, I weighted it and settled on 8lb 6oz of female tench. Final job was the photo's which I was very grateful of a helping hand.

With the photos done and the tench rested, she was slipped back into the lake and soon gone leaving only memories of the capture.

The next three hours were uneventful and nothing else graced the net anywhere near the scale of the tinca and with the sun setting it was time to leave.

Brenching

The alarm was off and I was up and out of the house like a mad march hare before daybreak.
Well the first part was true anyway.

I arrived at the lake later than planned due to a) not setting the alarm correctly and b) because of the slow old boy taking a early morning Sunday drive on a Saturday.
So it was not at day break that I got to the swim but about 40 minutes after, so I hastily set about getting the spombing due as quickly as possible. The spomb was put to good effect and in quick time two around some 3/4 rod lengths out was baited up. This was then left to rest while I had a quick chat with the overnight carpers. They'd not seen much action bar some mid doubles and I was soon back in the swim getting the rods out.

The first rod out was the reliable in line maggot feeder with a 3" hook link and the second was to be a in line lead baited with a sweet boilie and a PVA bag. Once out it was time for breakfast.
Breakfast has become a bit of a thing of late, gone is the gulping down a bowl of cereal at home, gone is the porridge bot on a winters morning and hello to the bank side butties!
After breakfast and only a hybrid to show for my endeavour, which had hung itself on the size 12 maggot bunch, I noticed that during the many retrieves, on a number of occasions the maggot had either been sucked or taken off of the hook.

The in line feeder rig consists of a in line maggot feeder taped up to reduce the flow of maggots, a quick link, 3" fluro hook link with hook sizes varying from 10-16 depending on whats on the hook or hair. To start with I had used a size 12 with the maggots bunched on to it, but due to the issue of bait being nicked off of the hook I decided to change to the fake baits.
So off with the hook rig and on with the hair rig. The hair had two fake bait red maggots hooked in a V shape rather than the T shape that a lot of other tenchers seem to favour. Whilst I've found the T shape effective, the V shape seem to deter the small silvers.

So with the rig change sorted, the feeder when back out and it brought a near instant result. The bobbin rose and the was pulled tight to the alarm before it dropped back. I connected with something, but it was soon evident that it wasn't a tench and the nodding of the tip signalled a bream had come into the margins.

The bream was soon netted and whilst not a monster by any means, it did show that something was feeding over the baited area.

It was soon returned and the feeder was back out and I settled back to enjoy the sights and sounds around the lake.
A  pair of Great Crested Grebe's were on the water courting in their normal head bobbing manner, three pair of buzzard were using the thermals to climb the thermos, a pair of kestrels were roosting on a branch on an Oak tree.
On the ground signs of plant life were spied and I took a couple of snaps of the wild flowers Primrose and cowslip, were taken around the lake.

Whilst enjoying these sight, it was noticeable that the insect life was not as abundant as previous springs, but this way to due more to the chill in the wind.

After an hour enjoying just being out there the maggot feeder rod was away again. This resulted in another bream taking a liking to the fake bait.

Fake baits are flooding the market and I've noted that with this there is a massive difference in the shape, appearance and feel of them. I'm in the mind that the fake bait needs to feel and look right to fool the fish or maybe its just to fool the anglers so I've stuck with the original and still the best in my opinion.

The morning drifted to midday and a few more bream took a liking to the rubber maggots and it was soon evident that a shoal had moved over the baited area and that they were hoovering it up every last piece of bait. Bream could be seen breaking surface and ever so often I get line bites too.

Just after lunch the boilie rod alarm was screaming and a fish was on the run, but there was one issue, the baitrunner was too slack and the running fish made a tangle mess of the mono before I even got to the rod. I lifted the rod and the fish was already gone. I was left untangling the spool before recasting.

By the time the session end, I had had seven bream and a small hybrid all from the margins, but not a sign of the tench that I had been targeting. With the weather turning milder, I'll soon be able to do short evening session on the pond so I'm hopeful of snagging a few over the coming months.

Back home and preparation are started for the next session and 2kg of hemp was bubbling on the stove.

Like Buses

The weekend couldn't come fast enough as I was eager to get back out on the bank and fish again.

This time I was more prepared and got down to the waters edge for dawn and spombed the usual sweet mix into my familiar swim.
I did contemplate a different swim on arrival, but having seen more tench in this area then anywhere else on the lake, why go else where.

The morning was warm, but overcast and no one else was about. Perfect. The spombing was efficiently done after abit of raking was undertaken, the swim was rested until everything else was setup and ready.

The rigs were to be the same on the rods, but the bait on the boilie rod was to be the new handmade bait given to me by the bailiff to try whilst fishing fake maggots on the inline feeder rig.

With both rod now baited and cast out, it was time to boil the kettle, prepare bankside breakfast and enjoy the first cuppa of the session.
With the kettle bubbling aware the inevitable happened. The bobbin on the boilie rod was jangling , then swiftly lifted to the rod. Stumbling down the bank, I grabbed the rod as the reel started to spool. Lifting into a moving fish I was confident that this was a tench and that it was making off at pace across the lake. The fish fought well and gave a good account of itself before appearing in the upper layers. It was no tench, but one of the bream the resident bream.
After netting, unhooking and muttering about the slim it was slipped back to continue to pester the tench.


The bait was still intact and it was cast back out and I went back to enjoying the breakfast that was slowly getting cold. Alas it was to go cold, because no sooner had the next spoonful been put in my mouth and the Delkim was bleeping, bobbin was rising and the reel churned. This was certainly no bream. The line sung in the breeze and a paddle tail slapped the surface as it boiled and turned over before taking line. Weed floated to the surface as the tench made a bid for freedom down the margins. The tench turned for open water and was doing its best to shake the hook, but it was within the range of the net and soon in its folds.
Not a monster, but a good size for the water and another over the 5lb mark for the season.
It was soon unhooked and returned with a slap of the might paddle, but yet again it had mouth damage.

The early morning drifted along and the day was turning pleasantly warm. The float rod was un packed and soon I was watching the tip for shy biting roach or hopefully tench.

The float was soon dipping and I connected with a number of hungry rudd, roach and hybrids, nothing to write home about in relation to size but good fun.

Whilst enjoying the float fishing it was evident that there was alot of bream in the area, the bobbins lift and the alarms bleeped, only for the same to happen in reverse on repeated occasions. In between this there would be proper bites and a number of bream graced the net.

Mid morning came and I had a decent run again on the boilie rod, from the head shaking it wasn't another bream and a second tench was hooked. This one played out like the first heading along the margins disturbing the weed beds and then making for open water. Being slightly smaller it was soon in the net.

The pattern of bream to tench is on this water very high, a ratio of 1:10 won't surprise me and they home in on the bait very quickly. On a dawn you can see them rolling out in the middle of the lake, feeding or ascending insects, only for them to move quickly over the baited area with 15 to 20mins once baiting up has finished. These bream do seem to feed first and once they have had their fill, move on which allows the tench and occasion carp to pick up the scraps.
If I could isolate a single component of the mix that was particularly favourable to bream, I'd remove it, but its a simple particle mix with a additional 1/2 pints of dead reds, corn and pellet.

But its not just the fish that like the mix, the resident water fowl likes it too and they too home in on the sound of the spomb hitting the water and it become a game of cat and mouse with them.
I can usually get away with the initial eight spombs, but that next five area the ones where the duck get there fill. There is also the inevitable mix that get dropped or spilt in the margins and this is soon snaffled by the old bill.

The day was becoming hotter and I could feel the burn on the neck through the collar. With the rising temperature the bites steadily dropped off and by early afternoon even the float had stopped dipping so I packed and headed for home.

Long Time Away

Its been well over a month since I wet a line due to ongoing work,life, home balancing act that us anglers have to endure, so it was finally nice to get to the bank.

I had set my stall out for a afternoon/evening session on a local water in the hope that the tench would still be about in the weed beds, so a banquet of spomb mix was mixed up the day before and left to ferment in a sealed bucket ready for bank side.

Upon arrival, there was only one car parked up and I hoped that it wasn't a lone carper with their lines spread all over the place. Thankfully it was a single rod pleasure angler who was happily catching on the float rod.

I setting into my usual swim and started the sweet, sticky spombing process. The spomb is underhand swung out to about 5 rod length out into the weed bed abit like a bait dropper but on a grander scales.
Ten spombs later and the bucket is 90% empty and I can rest the swim before putting the hook baits out over the top.

After a cuppa was brewed, drunk and a chat with the old boy along the bank, the rods were finally baited and placed out over the dinner table. First out was the inline feeder with the fake maggots attached, then the double hair rigged boillies on a bolt rig, with a pva bag with a few free offerings.

I noticed on the last outing that a number of the rigs hooks had become blunted or the link a bit frayed, so it was time for an overhaul.The evening before and whilst home alone, I had decided to ditch the year old tied rigs and re-tied a whole set of new ones in braid, stiff and supple hooklink material in various length, hook sizes and fake bait.

The afternoon was a mixed bag of wind, rain, sun and more rain so the brolly was erected to make the affair more comfortable and allow the stove to cook my lunch of rice and chicken in white sauce.

The third rod was kitted out with a float on the lift method, this was to be fished a couple of rod length out with abit of corn on the size 15 hook. I was hoping that if the tench got muscled out of the baited area that they might be up for taking small morsels of bait closer in and away from the masses.

With the baits out and the sun on my back it felt quite pleasant bar the odd spot of rain, infact it was so nice the Ray Band copies had to come out!

The first fish of the day fell to the float rod and the float lifted like a rocket and lay flat on the surface. I struck and a fish was on, but it wasn't a tench but a plump roach which was quickly subdued and netted. Not exactly what I was after but rather nice to see.

The fish roach was quickly followed by a second and third before the rain came and I decided to sit under the brolly for a bit. The rain fell heavily and ironically the bites started on the maggot feeder rod. The bobbins danced around for a bit before being swiftly lifted to the top and the baitrunner churned. The rod hooped with progressive curve and the fish on the other end made an attempt to pull my string, alas it wasn't big enough to take line and plodded about before hitting the surface and coming in like a wet sack. Alas no tench, but a reasonably sized bream which was unhooked in the net and release without getting covered in slime.

The feeder was refilled and cast back out, whilst I got steadily wetter in the heavy shower, hopefully this was only a passing shower and not a prolonged thundery storm as forecast by the Met men.

Rain was still falling when the boillie rod was away and just as the kettle was boiling too.
The baitrunner was churning nicely and I thought my luck was in with the tench. Again the rod hooped over and again something pulled back, but again the fight was short and un tench like and again it was a bream.

The bream had mashed the double boilies and they were unusable so were replaced with a fresh pair from the pot and cast back out to the dining area.

By this time the rain had abated and I pulled the seat out from under the brolly and recast the float out whilst settling down with the cuppa tea after reboiling the kettle.

I love float fishing especially on the lift method and it fills me with alot of joy, I'm just abit lazy and when the rod was a three piece it hardly came out of the bag. So with the new rod effectively being a two piece, it stays tackled up in the quiver so it can be thrust into action more frequently.

The float settled nicely and I scattered bits of corn around the tip of the float and waited. I didn't however have to wait to long and a small hybrid was soon swung in, unhooked and returned. This was followed by a couple of 8oz roach before things settled down.
The rain came again and went again, this was to be the pattern for the afternoon and  whilst I did land a few nice roach up to 1.1/2lb, no real monsters appeared. As with all roach fishing, the commotion did grab the attention of fishing with a predatory nature and whilst playing a 12oz roach a pike bolted out from the cover of the margin bushes to grab one for their dinner.

More bream came came to the boillie rod and maggot feeder, but alas no tench. But they did give their presence away with some area of pin sized bubbling, so they are still about and feeding.

The bailiff came around for a chat too and he confirmed that the tench were still coming out to the carpers and in particular to higher protein fresh baits which he rolls himself in various sizes.
Upon packing up, a damsel baring gifts appear at the umbrella, the bailiff had sent her up with a kilo of frozen boillies to try on my next session.

They smell quite good, so I look forward to giving them a try.

Its meant to be relaxing!

For along time I been trying to get sorted for regular overnight session just so I don't have to get up at silly O'clock for the dawn feeding spell.

So after sorting out the venue, gear etc I head out to the lake for a 24hr session in the hope of catching a tench.

I arrived to find a couple of anglers already setup, luckily none in the swim that I wanted and I barrowed the gear into the swim and then took a walk around the lake for a chat to the other anglers. None had any news or sighting of tench rolling, so it was a case of getting some bait out.

I had decided to stick with my normal spod mix but added something abit different after reading online about an ingredients that I had been using for winter roach, but for summer tench.

With the 5kg of pink mix ready, three area's were baited up ready for the evening and night. After baiting up was done and I had removed the sticky mess from my hand the rods and brolly were setup to ensure everything was ready for the night.

First rod out was the usual inline feeder, baited with three fake maggots, this was placed in a weed bed straight out in front of me. The second rod was the 90 degree rig, baited with a double strawberry boilie with a PVA bag full of micro pellets and placed out along the margins just infront of a willow.

A familiar face was also on the bank and we had a good chat about the lake and what had been coming out over recent weeks and general stuff on angling and tackle etc.
 Whilst we were deep in chat, the boilie baited rod indicator was jangling and then rose to the rod before the bait runner ticked over. I lifted into the fish and it pulled back.
After a tussle, the fish was netted first time by my mate and a chunky tench was lifted up the bank and onto the unhooking mat.

It went just over 6lb and was in good nick barring a small amount of mouth damage and went off fighting it.
This was the best tench so far this season and I hope more or bigger will follow from this water.

The boilies were still ok, so the rig was placed back out to the willow and I could now enjoy the warm evening's sights and sounds.

Whilst tucking into my first evening cuppa, the maggot feeder rod was away at a brisk pace and the rod hooped over into a nice curve but it didn't feel like a tench or even carp. A long lean fish boiled at the surface and the culprit gave itself away. Another pike on the tench gear, soon this toothy critter was at the edge and whilst unhooking it it spat out a small roach whilst had been attached to the hook with the fake maggots.

Alas the roach was no more and it was left in the margins to likely be snaffled by another predator during the night.

The evening rolled out and before the sun set, I spodded out another couple of kg of mix over the area's to top them up for the night and hopefully some early morning tench action.

With evening meal cooking, the boilie rod was away again, but by the lack of fight it was evident it was a small bream which it was. This was soon unhooked, but it had crushed the boilies.

After the rod was rebaited and recast, the light over the lake was starting to fade, so I snuggled down into the bag for the night listening to the varied sound of around the countryside. A barn owl was hooting in the distance, foxes screeched at each other and evening chorus of small birds got quieter and quieter. The sounds were replaced with sights of bats chasing insects on the wing and carp leaping from the water.

By 11pm it was dark and I was asleep, but not for long. I could feel a presence even whilst asleep and I awoke letting my eye's adjust to the dark. A voice then echoed around the brolly. "Are you awake?" it said, it made me jump and I soon realised who it was, the "old woman" of the lake was at my brolly and settled on the wet grass for a yarn. After 1/2 hour, he went on his way and I drifted back to sleep.

12:30am, the boilie rod was away and I woke in a start so see the Delkim's light fully illuminated and a one tone from the sounder. Fighting the sleeping bag, I was up and down the bank to the rod. The baitrunner was spinning and I lifted into a lump. The rod hooped over and the fish had taken quite a bit of line from the spool. Could this be a monster tench, After a good scrap, the fish came into the light of the head torch and my hope faded and suspicions realised. The lump was a carp and was giving a good account of itself. Once safely in the net, a plumb mirror carp was soon unhooked and weight. At 14.1/2lb it wasn't a record breaker, but was the biggest fish that has taken a liking to my baits intended for tench. With the carp back in the lake and the bait back out I snuggled back into the bag and drifted off to sleep.

1:30am and the same alarm was bleeping in short burst according to the receiver, I was out of the back and looked out into a sea of mist. I could just about make out the rods in the gloom and the air was very cold indeed. I got to the rod and lifted into a fish, I but the lines were crossed and after abit of picking, the fish was soon in the net. A bream of about 3lb was the culprit and I cursed it as the mess it had caused. The bream was slipped back whilst I mutter under my cold breath. Both rods were recast into the mist over the lake and a cold angler got back into his bag.


3:30am and dawn was beckoning and a hopefully the tench would be on the feed. I laid in the bag enjoying the start of the morning chorus. This blissful awakening was then disturbed by the bleeping of boilie rod for the four time and I begrudgingly got out of the bag and down to the rod. The spool was spinning and the line was heading along the margin. The rod hooped over and a weight was at the end of the line, but it didn't feel like a tench and felt more like another carp.
A tussle ensued and whilst I did enjoy the feel of a weight on the line, but I was some what disappointed at the end result of another carp in the net. The carp was soon unhooked and photographed. This one wasn't as pristine as the first and had damage to a couple of area, but they were healing.

Carp number two was slid back and I sat on the bedchair with the first brew of the day and reflected on the busy night.

The sun rose and the wind came with it. It was blowing in a different and cooler direction to the day before. This did have a dramatic affected on the fishing and only the roach were showing.
It did stick a float out over the edge of the weed and baited a spot with casters and hoped that I would snag a tench. Bites came steadily but again it was not from the target species and a mixed bag of roach, skimmer bream and hybrids came along.

By mid morning it was time to pack up and head from home.

How I See Today's Angling

I've  been struggling with the tench of late with a number of blank sessions under my belt on a few different venues, so I've have had a far amount of time on my hands to ponder things in angling including the Angling Trust, Environment Agency and ofcourse our current Government.

The Angling Trust was setup to be the voice of angling when required, but they seem to now to just simply like the sound of their own voice and are happy to take the credit for others work.
The Environment Agency are the ones stuck between a rock and a hard place, the simply do not have the funds or the man power to deal with the countless issues including enforcement, fishery work and protecting the environment. And finally, the Government, but its the UK's fault for voting them in!
The final issue or gripe I have is the current crop of magazines on the market, what pile of pissh!

If angling bloggers were to adopt the same principles, we'd write like this.

It was a gloomy lunchtime when I left the David Wilson home and drove to  to the pond in the Suzuki SX4 Crossover.

I walked to the swim with the gear along with the Detania collie cross dog in tow who was happy chasing birds, bumblebee's and bunnies along the path.

Once in the swim, I proceed to setup the Drennan Super Specialist Twist landing net, Harrison Chimera tench rods which have Shimano DL4000FA reels attached and place them on the Delkims alarms and Gardner rod rests.

The Van  Den Eyne Expro grounbait lased with Gladwell maggots, ASDA value sweetcorn and home cooked hemp was mixed, allowed to dry and Spomb-ed out using the Fox spod rod.

The first rig out was a Fox inline lead, coupled with a Drennan Super Specialist braided 8lb hooklink and Drennan Super Specialist size 12 hook, baited with three grains of the ASDA value sweetcorn and enclosed in a Fox PVA easy loader PVA bag filled with Gladwells coarse micro pellets.

The second rigs consisted of a Drennan inline maggot feeder with a Shimano hooklink and Drennan super specialist hook which was also cast out to the Spomb baited area.

With the two rods out, it was time to enjoy a cup of PG tips and a snack bar (forgot the make).

All was quiet with the rods, but the bird life was beautiful, Great Crested Grebe's, Sheldrakes, Pink Foot Geese, Kingfisher were just some of the birds about plus an abundance of small birds in the woods behind me.

The third and final rig was a float rod and I was testing out the Drennan series 7 13' Tench and Specimen Float rod, which was a birthday presnt.

I noticed that Middy 4AAA float was slightly lifting and had hopes that a tench was in the margins feeding on the baited area. Also it proved to be nothing.

Baring the presence of a minature pike and along of tadpole which it was happy feeding on that was the most action I saw for the next 6hrs.

Now if this was a magazine feature, said angler would have caught a number of specimen fish and ofcourse have a action shot from the water, but it was a tad cold and the dog is now good at taking photos'.

Might have to take up golf!

Wrong Ratio

a

The Easter break was a chance to get the rods out for the early season tench and after the usual morning duties I was soon driving through the lane to get to the lake.

After loading the barrow and pushing it along the muddy path, I was soon next to the lake and contemplating the choice of swim. Alas, my favourite tinca swim was taken by another angler, so plan B was put into action, have a chat with another carper to see what joy they may have had before deciding on plan C

So, with plan C hatched, I pushed the barrow to last weekends spot.

First jobs first, mixing up the ground bait for rod one and spodding the particle mix out on rod two.

Once this messy task was done and the usual rigs were placed out over the top it was time for breakfast (porridge) and the cuppa to start off they day. The morning was mild for March and there was a real sense that spring was around the corner, the male pheasants were fighting on the hill, the buzzard was using the thermals to get to a heady height and the green woodpeckers were whooping at each other from opposing trees.

The blissful sound were then disturbed by the bleeping of an alarm and the bobbin rose to the rod before the baitrunner started to tick over. No need to strike a fish was on, but alas soon the plod, plod of a blank saving bream was felt on the end of the line.

This was soon netted,unhooked and returned.

The rod was swiftly rebaited and recast, but I struggle to attach the bobbin as it kept lifting to the rod and falling of. Errrh you muppet fish on and after a not so long tussle another slab came to the net.

The early morning drifted on with the feeder being recast frequently to top up the swim. This paid off and shortly after 9am the alarm single tone and the baitrunner was spinning. Certainly no slab and with a spirited fight an small tench came to the net.

Unfortunately this lovely tench had a damaged bottom jaw and whilst it seemed to be feeding, it did seem abit thin for its length. Otherwise it was in good health and was soon slipped back.

The rest of the morning was spent unhooking slabs in the 3-5lb bracket and by lunch I decided to switch to new area's and fish single baits with pva bags of offerings. Alas the photo summed up the afternoon.

Its been a case of, warm enough for fish to feed, but not the species I want to catch. So I do I carry on with this venue for another few weeks with similar ratios' or do I switch to the harder venues?

Will see what the weekend brings.

On the Up

 Its been a tough last month resulting in very little fishing, but lots of think of fishing.

At the beginning of the month I was struck down with Bronchial Pneumonia which had me off work and laid up for best part of ten days, even the thought of venturing out after  old esox was enough to give me the shivers and I hung up the pike rods three weeks earlier than planned. The pike season this year hadn't been kind to me and with a couple best part of a month taken away with trips abroad, the results were dismal and whilst I caught on nearly every trip, the best for a 14lb fish, but I did learn alot about new venues.

Last week I was feeling better and after sorting out some online trolls, I started to prep the tench gear for a early season trip. Must task was bait and whilst I can get god quality maggots, casters are a different matter. So I turn my own in the utility room. They turn within 2.1/2 days and were spot on.

So with maggot, casters, worm sorted, plus the usual change baits and ground bait sorted, the rods to and tackle were packed.

I decided that i just wake and go, well that was the plan. I woke, fell back sleep and final woke at 6am.
By 7ish I was on the water and settle into a new swim with the light wind coming across me. My usual reed swim was taken by an overnight carp angler, but I was in an area that I felt confident with and that is half the battle.

In order to ensure I didn't become to static, I only stuck two rods out on alarms, an inline bolt rigged maggot feeder with three plastic maggots on a hair and a worm on the 90 deg rig along the close margin. Each had a few expro balls laced with crushed casters, hemp and red added to give the tench something to crunch on. The maggot feeder was to be brought in and topped up ever half an hour only to be cast back to the baited area.

Next up was the usual breakfast brew and porridge, it was chilly, could have been a pike day, but with the birds singing, daffodils out and willow firmly budding up, spring was certainly here.

Neither rod saw much action for the first couple of hours, but I felt confident as a hardy matchman was catching roach, bream and a surprise rudd steadily in the corner swim on the waggler.

The maggot feeder rod alarm then sounded and the bobbin rose to the top and  with no fight what so ever a blank saving bream came to the net. This was soon followed by an other bream and it was soon evident by the numbers rolling that they had muscled their way in over the baited area. Now whilst I do like specimen bream, on this particular lake they don't grown much above 7lb, so they not a target species.

A new area was selected some 15 yards from the bank, this was within underarm casting range and soon the maggot feeder, plus four balls of laced groundbait was deposited on the money.

The morning drifted by and the wind changed direction, grew in strength and had a real chilly feel to it, the extra coat was required and I hunkered down in the chair. It certainly now was piking weather.

The worm bait was left untouched and got changed over to a 10mm strawberry boilie topped off with a piece of buoyant corn, plus a PVA sock of freebies was chucked along the margin.

I was eager for lunch time to come and the hot food was very welcome along with copious amounts of tea to keep the bones warm.

The mini boillie rod alarm "one toned" then ripped off with the baitrunner spinning, but I connected with nothing, by the speed, of the run, I reckon it was one of the carp taking a liken to the bait which is always a danger on this lake.

A few more casts of the maggot feeder and the alarm bleeped, the bobbin rose, baitrunner spun and the rod tip started to bounce. This was no bream, but could have been another carp lunching on the baited area in the margins.

The new Harrison Chimera 12ft, 1.3/4TC tinca rods built for me by Dave Lumb at D.L. Specialist Tackle as a birthday presented from my wife last year, whilst christened with a few bream and one carp last year hadn't had a tench on the other end. I was dearly hoping it was a tench and I wasn't disappointed.
The tench rolled on the surface before taking line and the rod took a lovely progressive curve along the blank. It absorbed the power of the tench via its paddle tail beautifully and I felt assured that the hook won't full.
With the net extended, the tench slid over the rim. Result, first tench of 2016 season and a nice conditioned one to boot.

It was hooked clearly in the corner of the mouth and was soon unhooked, weighted at 4lb 6oz, and released.

The tench was very pale, and not the usual spring coloured tench green, but the water was very coloured and I expect that when the water is clear and the lillys/weed have grown up it will darken up.

With the wind getting chillier, the pesky bream moving into the shallow baited around were the tench had been hooked, the bobbin was twitching and alarm beeping constantly. During the remainder of the day, a further three bream in the 3-5lb bracket decided the fake maggots too tempting and more wet sacks were played to the net.

The mainline was covered in slime, a sure sign that a large shoal of bream had descended onto the onto the dinner table and by 16:00 I'd had enough and headed for hope a happy tenchfisher.

Frustrating

This nicely sums up my last two day's worth of tench fishing.....

I love the smell of hemp in the morning

Its 04:00 in the morning and the dog is snoring, better get up and get ready. Look out of the window and its raining, oh bugger, back to bed for another hour then.

05:00 and enough is enough, better give the tench fishing another go, but its still raining. I get up and get dressed, feed the prowling cats and let them out.

The gear is ready, MUST remember to get all the baits out of the fridge and the FREEZER.

I'm away from the house by 05:45, but its raining hard, and I forgotten the bait in the freezer, so I turn back for home. Do I unload the car or just collect the bait. After much thought, I get the bait and head back out.

Driving along the roads, there are vast puddle and its obviously been raining hard for most of the night. There is a freshness in the area and the wildlife seems to how something about the inclement weather. As I drive along the lanes, a Sparrow Hawk flies in front of the car at strafing height scattering the Sparrow from the hedgerow. It grabs one in mid air and climbs into the gloomy morning sky.

The track to the lake is wet and muddy, I wish I'd brought the wellies.

Fortunately, most of the lake is within easy reach of the car, so setting up was a doddle and soon the brolly was up, with the gear safely stowed underneath it.

After previous session of Rudd City, I had decided to put in loads of bait using the spod this time to create a banquet of bait for the Tench to home in on. It would also help suppress the weed and hopefully feed the ruddy piranha's!

Four pints of hemp, one pint of dead reds and a half of caster went into the mix on this cold, wet morning. The hemp was home cooked the day before and the smell as I opened the lid to the bucket was intoxicating. "Do you smell that? Hemp Son, I love the smell of hemp in the morning"

The hemp was cooked well and I'd left some of the juice in the bottom to help with the spod mix.

I spodded the bait into to areas, one in the middle of the lilies and the second next to a shallow mix of lilies and cabbage. The second area was infact in catapult range, but with a underhand swing, it was just as easy to fill the spod.

With the banquet laid out, it was time to put out the rods carp style whilst the drizzle continued. That way I could enjoy the breakfast under the brolly.

Three rods were soon in position and the kettle was on. All was good.

The kettle whistled and the sound brought be out of a heady day dream and the rain had stopped.

First brew with the porridge and I gaze out over the lake, there is another brave sole on the water, a carper in a bivvy is stirring, I wonder if he' had a restful night.

The maggot feeder has been out for a while unmolested, so time for a top up. The weed is thin here and I pretty sure the bait is sitting on the bottom nicely, but something does not look right.

The fake maggots are balancing very well and look unnatural, so the right is tweaked so the hook is just resting on the silt. Happy with that and back out it goes. The mind wanders, are the other baits sitting pretty? Probably not so, they get retrieved, checked, tweaked (if necessary) and recast with fresh bags and bags of free offerings.

Time for another brew and the oh so happy bailiff does his rounds with is pooch. Good chat with him and he confirm that the tench haven't been blowing much yet, but a decent one has been caught in recent weeks. They are still there.

The dog does it think along with the bailiff and soon he's on his way with the pooch in tow.

The middle rod bobbin starts to jingle as the pesky Rudd start to wake up But none are registering proper bites.

Another tweak, the bobbins need to be lighter, so the add weight is removed and its just the bobbin on the chain, perfect.

More tea and the margin rod give a jangle and then hits the rod before stopping dead. Left or retrieve. I choose the latter and inspect the rig. Its been dragged into the weed and the casters are gone.

Rebait, recast. Tea is made and its warm feel help with the cold, damp weather. Feel like a perch day, not a tench weather at all.

Sitting in the chair, the eye's pick up a scurrying critter along the path. A shrew is making a dash for cover, before he get trampled by a clumsy squirrel falling from the tree. The squirrel shakes and hops along the path.

No sign of the fisher king, I would have expect to see him in the morning, but no sign of him.

An alarm is sounding, it not mine so it must be the carper, it is but as he nears he rod, the Delkim on the marginal rod is away. In unison we lift into the running fish, and in unison we connect with thin air. How odd. I wonder if he swore too?

Its now midday, and confidence is growing, but its all been to much for the carper and his packing away. I stretch my legs and spy a white object in the reeds, a swan has made a nest and is sitting, her mate comes to inspect by presence, but he's use to seeing humans and isn't alarmed.

Time to freshen things up, I could even get the float gear out, but instead chose to carry on carping for tench.

There is a fizzing in the margins and I ply the area with some more hemp and casters before underhand swinging the baits into position. The fake bait has been replaced with really bait and scaled the hook link and hook size down, confidence is high and there is electric in the air.

The real bait hasn't been to long, and the alarm is sounding, bobbin rising and spool is turning. I grab the rod, fail to disengage the runner and the spool spins as I endeavour to strike. Regaining my composure, I do things correctly and connect with a running fish, the rod bends and fish is on.....

......for thirty seconds before the underrated hook link goes Bing! Darn and blast as the air is turned blue and the writer has a hissy fit due to his complete incompetence!

I've calmed down and reel in the remains of the rig, the hooklink has indeed failed and I cure the mistake for underestimating the fish size in the lake,

Rerigged, rebait and back out for another go. This bait is joined by another as the fish are clearly feeding here and in other area's in the marginal beds of lilies.

More tea is required, or perhaps something stronger, a Green Woodpecker can be heard laughing in the back ground at this clumsy anglers ability to catch a green'un from this historical, magical place.

Reflecting on the lost moment I laugh, or do I cry, perhaps I do both. But with with the despair comes delight and reflection. It was a bite and I one step closer than last time.

The afternoon soon passes and nothing else happens, bar a Wren stealing a couple of dead reds, but I can spare a few.

After the obligatory extra half hour, I pack, leaving the rods and net until last before disappearing out of the gates.

Hard Going

Its been a while seen my last post, been busy with work, life and an occasional fishing session.

The morning was cold and bright, not exceptional tench fishing conditions, but I was itching to give it a go.

I arrived nice and early and parked the car up, but I wasn't going to have the lake to mysekf. With two cars already parked up, I feared my favourite swim would be taken.

I barrowed the gear up the hill and had a look about, there was a bivvy set up of both side of the lake, and one was alarmingly close to where I wanted to fish.
Fortunately, they were a couple of swims away and I settled in to the favoured swim. The water level was lower than expected and it would make fishing difficult with the frost under foot.

I soon had the pod setup with three rods all fished less than 40 yards from the bank, two baits were tucked into the margins left and right close to the reeds.

Breakfast and tea was soon on the stove and just as the kettle had boiled the right hand rod was away and the spool was spinning. Picked up the rod and locked down. the rod bent over nicely and after a short fight the paddle tail of a tench kicked on the surface.

The tench was soon subdued and I slid it into the net. Not bad on a cold April morning.

It was quickly unhooked and slid back into cold water.

Another bag of hemp and casters were soon on the rig and it was swung out to the margins.

Time to sit back and enjoy the breakfast and brew. That was the last time I was to enjoy the comforts of the chair.

With the final slurp of the tea, the middle method feeder rig was away and as the rod bent over, the tell tale plod of a bream on the line was all to apparent. It same in like a wet sack, and was soon in the net. a fish in the four pound bracket, which seems to be the average size for the lake.

Rebait, recast and as the feeder hit the water, the right hand marginal rod was away again. Plod, plod, any other bream. This time it was unhooked in the net in the water and soon was away. Rebait, recast and middle rod is off again. Mmmmmm I wonder if this is, yep a bream.

For the next 3 hours it was bream city and it didn't matter what range or what bait I had on, they devoured the lot.

By 2pm, I'd had enough and with bait running out, I packed up. As I was packing up, the lake surface was live with rolling bream of various sizes and had I had the bait, I could have easily bagged 100lb of slabs in quick time. But in the end 15 bream averaging 4lb and a solitary tench was enough.

Whilst the air temperature was cold, it was nice to see the abundance of wildlife over the lake and in the edges. Moorhens were busying themselves with nest building, the Barn Owl was making frequent hunts in the growing grass and even the carp were jumping. As the final piece of gear was loaded onto the barrow, a solitary House Martin skimmed the surface of the lake in search of emerging bugs.

So Close

Its the time of the year when the spring sun shine warms you heart and the sights and sounds of spring lift your spirits or. it just bloody cold and miserable.

Today was the latter 10 deg C which coupled with brisk northerly wind made it feel like -10 deg C.

I arrived nice and early and upon leaving the warm of the car, the cold hit me. But it wasn't just cold, it was freezing. After a chat with some hardy overnight carp anglers, I headed for the opposite end of the lake where there was some shelter from the cold wind.
It was hoped that it would just be me that found comfort out of the wind and perhaps the tench would too.

I set about getting the best out of the conditions by fishing three rods with completely different rigs and baits to give myself a fighting chance of a bite or two.

First out straight was a method feeder with a size ten hook baited with two reds, the second was a the marginal bolt rigs with caster on the hook, plus a PVA
bag of hemp and casters, the third and final rod was a helicopter rig with fake casters and a feeder full of reds.

Soon I was under the shelter boiling the kettle for the first brew and a pot of porridge for breakfast.

The porridge was going down nicely, when the middle rod Delkim sounded. The bobbin shot to the top clunking on the rod and the bait runner started to fizz. Rest!

I was soon attached to a fish and it felt ok so after applying some pressure a fish came to the surface, but it didn't have a nice dark green look to it, but a dark brown look.

The bream was soon subdued and was in the net.

At around 4lb it was a decent slab, but not what I was after.

The bream was slipped back and the feeder refilled and recast.

Looking about the lake, I had been joined by a pole angler and a carper, whilst the pole angler was further down the lake, the carper came and plonked themselves within spitting distance of my left hand rod. With plenty of room on this lake for 15-20 anglers, I do wonder why some people choice to invade your space.

The wind started to subside and there was a glimmer of sunshine, but alas the glimmer was soon gone, the wind picked up and the heavens opened.

Sitting under the shelter, I was starting to question my sanity sitting here half in spring gear and half in full winter gear.

The rain continued for an hour, but as it stopped the bobbin on the margin rod started to dance, seem like the roach had woken up.
After five minutes of the bobbin raising and falling, I picked up the rod to find something attached. Upon in a tiny roach had snaffled the bait.

The morning soon past wit not alot of action and after rebait, recasting and rebagging I set about cooking up a warm lunch.

This was welcome and the warmth of the food made me feel a whole lot better and full of beans for the afternoon session.

With lunch done and the mess tin tidied away, I sat back with a brew. The rain had disappeared and the sun poked through on occasion.
On once such appearance, the middle rod was showing signs of life, short rises and falls of the bobbin, but I sat on my hands until the bobbin shot up and the bait runner churned.

Upon picking up the rod, and I was pleased to find a health bend in the rod. The fish headed for the weed bed, but I managed to turn it and it headed back out in to open water.
The fish rose to the surface and I caught sight of it, it wasn't a bream that was forsue and as it came closer, I was certain it was a tench. The fish came to the surface and it was a nice looking tench with a big paddle tail. I grabbed the net and steered the tench to the net rim..The tench saw the submerged net and turn with a powerful surge from the paddle.

The line went slack. B*****ks!

The sight of the tinca disappearing into the depth was both a pleasure and a pain.

But it was a sign that spring had sprung and better times would hopefully be just around the corner.

We Are Not Alone

Another weekend and another quest for perch was in order. So after sorting out the usual at home and explaining to the dog why he was being left at home today, I ventured out of the house.

The morning was breezy, with slight chill in the air and the occasional drop of rain from the pasting storm. It could go either way, so I quick got the brolly out and packed it into the car, just in case.

It didn't take me long to travel along the back roads and soon I was down by the lake side, but I wasn't alone.
As I approached the bank a huge swirl erupted in front of me and a black shape turned up and over into the lake. I had my suspicions and I followed the lines of bubbles along the margin. Soon enough the monster of the pond emerged again and the shimmering body of a dog otter was eye balling me.
Well, all hell broke loose,  and I began cursing and swearing, whilst screaming like an banshee to try to scare the living daylights out of the fish eating terror that was residing in the lake.
After five mins of demonic behaviuor the smooth criminal had disappeared from my sight and with mission accomplished, I ventured off to my tackle.

All was quiet again.

I soon went about setting up the rods. The first was baited up with a large lobworm on a running ledger, and cast under the trees on the far bank. Bobbin attached, Delkim on and the bait snatching gear was put into action.
It didn't take long half a dozen roach and rudd to oblige and take the bait and soon one was being cast out on a paternoster into the shade.

With the rods baited and carefully positioned, I sat back in the chair with the first cuppa to take in the sights and sounds of the lake. A Green Woodpecker  with its looping flight and screeching call, pasted along the far side in the wooded area, whilst the resident pair of Buzzard had found an early morning thermal. With each graceful turn, the pair gradually gaining height on the column of hot are, whilst offering a reassuring calls to one another.

The morning was still cool, but the first rays of sun started to break above the treeline and cast a shadow onto the lakes surface. All was still, including the bobbins.

After an hour or so of inactivity on the rods, a recast was in order, but with the lobworm looking a little worse for ware, I decided it needed to be changed. The morning sun had defrosted the king prawns and with there pungent smell wafting out of the bait box, it just seemed rude not to hook one up.

Resting back in the chair, I was starting to loss myself in the quiet when one of the alarms starting to wake from its slumber. Those bleeps turned into a continuous tone and the reel fizzed,  but didn't need to strike as the fish was hooked.After a hectic fight, a small Common Carp was landed.

Rebait and recast, but the bait had hardly settled before another carp snaffled the whole prawn. Not quite what I was intending to catch, but it showed that something was feeding other than the small 3" Roach and Rudd.

The other rod was surprisingly quiet, and I wound in to check to see if the bait was still intact, which it was so it was cast back out to the far bank.

Midday came and when and I noticed that other anglers were catching the carp too on various methods from simple float fished bait to zig rigs. With the first bite of a sandwich, the prawn baited rod bobbin was twitching, but suspecting another carp I didn't give it much attention. That was until the bobbin started to rise to the top and the baitrunner started to click. Dropping the salad and chicken sandwich, I struck and felt something other than a  carp.
It didn't take long to have the a solid perch of a pound in the net, but it was a first on a king prawn, so I felt quite chuffed with the change of bait.

After slipping back the perch, and attaching another prawn to the hook, I finished lunch and sat in the midday sun.

By early afternoon, the sun had moved over the lake and the shade was now on the near margin. So sensing the fish were keeping out of the sun, I decided to have a little play with the 4m pole.

I introduce a few pieces of chopped prawn around the float and it didn't take long for a series of small perch to snaffle the bait which was just touching bottom. But along with the perch, there was also a couple of other species of fish.

Fish after fish after fish came to the prawn and in between the crucian's, tench and countless perch, the pole elastic was stretch on a number of occasions by carp in the 3-5lb bracket.

Most were landed, but one wasn't. The float had hardly settled when the float slide away and the line went solid. But as I started to exert pressure on the fish, it move off at a pass and before I could react, the hook pulled.

By 5pm, with the prawns running out and the carp playing havoc with all bar the rudd baited rod, I decided enough was enough and headed for home.

TL